14 DAY TRIAL // Apple is expected to launch three different iPhone models next year, and top-rated analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the company is very likely to introduce substantial battery upgrades on each of them.
In a new note to investors, Kuo says the L-shaped battery design that’s currently used on the iPhone X will make its way to both the 5.8-inch 2018 iPhone (a direct successor to the iPhone X) and the 6.5-inch version, which is likely to be a Plus-sized variant of the X.
On the other hand, the 6.1-inch iPhone launching next year, and rumored to come with an LCD screen and metal body as cost-saving measures, will be equipped with a rectangular battery design, Kuo says, though some upgrades in this case are likely as well.
3,000 mAh battery of 2018 iPhone X
Right now, the estimate is that Apple could bring the battery capacity of the 5.8-inch model from 2,716 mAh on the existing iPhone X to a maximum of 3,000 mAh on the 2018 successor, so it’ll feature an increase of approximately 10 percent.
Given Apple’s obsession with software optimizations, the 10 percent battery boost should translate to at least a couple of hours of battery life per charge, as it typically happens on new-generation iPhones.
While the 2018 iPhone models will use different displays, Apple wants all of them to feature Face ID, which means that the notch is very likely to expand to the entire lineup of devices. Some other features, however, are likely to be missing, as it’s the case of wireless charging, which on the more affordable LCD-equipped iPhone won’t be offered because of the metal body.
It goes without saying that these are just early guesses regarding the 2018 iPhone lineup, but the KGI analyst has proved to be surprisingly accurate in the past, so there’s a good chance Apple is at least considering such upgrades.